What's New

March 10, 2008

42nd annual Morden Corn & Apple Festival welcomes Juno award winnersThe Wilkinsons

    The 42nd annual Morden Corn & Apple Festival is proud to announce this years main stage FREE live entertainment, Canadian Country trio The Wilkinsons. One of Manitoba’s finest festivals takes place August 22nd, 23rd & 24th in Morden, Manitoba.

     This awarding-winning triad made up of Dad, Steve and siblings Amanda and Tyler call Belleville, Ontario home. Although music has been a part of their lives since the very beginning, The Wilkinsons released their first album in 1998 titled “Nothing But Love“. Now 5 albums later, the latest being titled “Home“, the group is still going strong performing across parts of Europe, Canada & the USA. They are not only Juno award winners, but they have been nominated for CMA’s Horizon Award and Vocal Group of the Year in 2000, they were nominated for Single of the Year from The Academy of Country Music Awards. If that wasn’t impressive enough, The Wilkinsons have twice been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group, currently have one Juno Award and 4 nominations. The Wilkinsons also have their own reality based TV show on CMT called The Wilkinsons which in now in it’s 2nd season.

     The Morden Corn & Apple Festival features free admission, free outdoor live entertainment, free buttered corn-on-the-cob, free cold apple cider, free children’s entertainment, street vendors, a Farmers’ Market and the list goes on. Morden truly comes alive with all of the hustle and bustle of the weekend, displaying its beautiful historical buildings, majestic tree-lined streets and the dedication of volunteers to make such a fun and exciting weekend happen. Everyone from young to old will find something to enjoy throughout the weekend, it’s a great way to spend a weekend getaway with the entire family.

     Please come and take a walk with us in Morden and enjoy the weekend festivities, namely enjoying Country singers The Wilkinsons who take the stage Friday August 22nd, following the Opening Ceremonies.

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July 30, 2007

MORDEN CORN AND APPLE FESTIVAL SAYS "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORDEN" WITH A NUMBER OF 125 EVENTS AND FEATURES

     The 2007 Morden Corn & Apple Festival will feature a number of events as well as some legacy projects that tie in directly with Morden's year-long celebrations of its 125th year as a community.   Organizers have confirmed that visitors to the Festival will see the 125 occasion celebrated by the following items on the schedule of events and also by a few longer term legacy projects that will remain in the community.

     Opening ceremonies at the Festival this year will feature a performance by the Poor Theatre Company which reenacts a lighthearted interpretation of events that took place as Morden was initially developed.  Opening ceremonies take place Friday, August 24th at 6:00 p.m.

     The theme for this year's Festival Parade is 125 Years of History and Cultural Diversity.  Parade participants have been asked to address the theme and to decorate their floats accordingly.  The Parade takes place Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

     2007 will see the return of a fashion show to the Festival.  A scripted vintage fashion show being named 125 Years of Fashion will be presented by Rag Pickers AntiFashion Emporium & Friends.  Those friends include Morden's Poor Theatre Company as well as former Festival fashion show organizer, Grace Warkentin. This entertaining show features a large collection of antique clothing and has been performed at a number of Manitoba venues including The Manitoba Museum. The fashion show takes place Friday evening at approximately 8:30 immediately following the Colin James concert.

     Another event being held in conjunction with the Festival is the Morden 125 Contract Bridge Tournament which is taking place Friday at 12:30 at the Morden Friendship Centre.

     Space normally reserved for a Festival message on the front of its hugely successful brochure has been given up by the Festival in order to draw attention to the fact that Morden is celebrating this event.  The brochure represents the largest single distribution of any brochure connected to Morden and is available all over Manitoba and handed out to Festival visitors as they arrive. 

     Morden 125 Street Banners on Thornhill Avenue are displayed on banner hardware that was purchased jointly between the Town and the Festival in 2006 as the Town was preparing for the 125 celebrations.  The Festival spearheaded the project to mark its own 40th anniversary in 2006. 

     Further expenditures were undertaken this year to have the Festival's own banners printed.  Only half of the Festival banners will be installed this August in consideration of the Town celebration so that Festival visitors will still see a large number of the 125 banners on display.  Future years will see all of the Festival's banners up on Thornhill Avenue for the month of August. 

     Although the Festival originally budgeted $5,000.00 for its contribution to the 125 celebration, organizers say that with all things considered, that number has nearly doubled.  This can be attributed to the fact that the committee even factored the 125 Celebration into decisions made on other events such as the extra expense to bring in Colin James as our headline entertainer.  Organizers penciled the $5,000.00 into the budget at the beginning of the year without having any single specific event in mind.  We just knew that we wanted another special Festival for this year and were confident that opportunities to help celebrate would present themselves. 

     The Festival is pleased to participate in this celebration and is proud to showcase Morden to visitors from all over the world during its signature event.

     Latest reports show that individual Festival committees have done a great job of keeping expenses in line this year and fundraising efforts have exceeded expections so barring poor weather at the Festival itself, it is expected that this year's Festival will operate with a budget surplus. 

     Further information can be found on the Festival's website, www.cornandapple.com or by calling the Morden & District Chamber of Commerce at 204 822 5630.

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May 3, 2007

BBQ COOK-OFF - FIRST OF ITS KIND IN MANITOBA

     The Morden Corn & Apple Festival is excited to announce a new "first of its kind in Manitoba" event being planned for the 2007 Festival which takes place on August 24th, 25th and 26th.  Festival co-chairs Jocelyne Durand and Ken Wiebe along with event producers Craig Strike and James Roy are pleased to introduce The First Annual Morden International Barbeque Championship.  Plans are well under way for what is likely the biggest new event to be added to the Festival since the introduction of the Old Time Dance Stage which also attracts attendees from all over Canada and the bordering U.S.

     Event producer Craig Strike feels that with the emergence of National Barbeque Cook-Offs sweeping the world, it’s now time for Manitoba to step into competition arena. They felt that the Corn and Apple Festival is an ideal setting, given, it is largely “food related” and there are currently no other barbeque competitions in Manitoba. This event will be free to the public and will help to enhance the “farm to fork” nature of the community. To further compliment the Corn and Apple Festival they see the inclusion of “apple” related products such as cider, sauce, and juice as being a mandatory ingredient for most of the competition.

     In this inaugural event, they envision four separate components including;

  • Barbeque Cook-Off - featuring a minimum of 22 cooking teams (amateur and professional).
  • Tradeshow – consisting of barbeques and anything related to them or potential sponsors.
  • Cooking Demonstrations - providing tips, techniques and recipes for future competitors and backyard barbeque aficionados.
  • Barbeque Vending – attendees will have the opportunity to purchase authentic lip-smacking barbeque and Southern style cuisine.

     The competition will be take place over the entire three days of the Festival and will feature different menus each day.  All categories will be judged and trophies and cash prizes are up for grabs. 

     Festival and event organizers are confident that the new event will only serve to enhance the Festival visitor experience and are looking forward to working together for the long term future success of the event.  Initial reaction to the Event has been very positive and several professional teams from the U.S. have already expressed interest in the competition.

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